Las diferentes caras del almidón

Résumé

The availability of a growing number of low-cost chemicals, suitable for the production of macromolecular materials, has given rise to "the Plastic Era". This phenomenon and the consequent investment in the petrochemical field led to the fall of the market and the research of natural polymers. Over the past two decades, polymers from renewable sources have attracted increasing interest once again, mainly due to two main reasons: firstly the increase in environmental problems and secondly the awareness that our oil resources are ever smaller and their price continues to increase. For these reasons, today it tends to revalue natural polymers. Among all polymers from renewable sources, starch, thanks to its complete biodegradability and low cost, is considered a promising candidate for the development of sustainable materials. Starch is a polysaccharide, but from the point of view of its employment as a polymeric material, two different uses can be distinguished: as a polymer matrix in form of thermoplastic starch and as nanofiller in form of nanocrystals